Page 69 of Saved By The King's Gamma

“Oh, sweet girl,” she gushes, hugging me tightly. Katrina was the only one that was nice to Abbie and me. She holds me at arm’s length, checking me over. Her fingertips trail over my shoulder, which was a little exposed. The ends of the lash marks on my back poke out the top. She smiles sadly, tears brimming in her eyes, and she sniffles.

“How’s Abbie?” she asks.

“She is okay,” I tell her, and she nods and wipes her eyes.

“You look good, sweetie,” she says, hugging me again. One of the kid’s tugs on my shirt, and I pick him up.

“Hey, Jack,” I beam at him. He plays with my hair, tugging on it gently.

“Where is Abbie? She didn’t come to visit us?” He pouts. He was seven years old and was missing his two front teeth. His blonde hair is tied in a bun on his head.

“No, she couldn’t come,” I tell him, and he nods sadly. Katrina leads us inside and turns the kettle on.

“Kyson said you’re in charge now?” I tell her. She nods, and I look around the kitchen. It was the same. I start reaching for mugs and setting them out, and I can feel Kyson watching me. Katrina fusses, telling me not to help her, but I shoo her away, telling her to sit. She sighs and sits down heavily in a chair.

“Yep. But the Alpha cut back rations again. This place is falling apart, and Dad is sick, so I am back and forth,” she says.

“No one to help?” I ask.

“Margret comes over when I ask, but you know how she is. I swear I could run this pack better than that twat, he keeps saying he hasn’t got the money to put in this place, I checked his finances for him the other week again and he has gambled everything,” Katrina tells me, and I nod, passing her and Kyson a cup of tea. Margret was one of Mrs. Daley’s friends, and she hated children, even her own.

“What’s wrong with your father?” I ask her.

“Dementia. He needs a full-time carer now, but I can’t with this place, and mum is just as bad, so she is no help, and I haven’t got the funds to pay for one.” Katrina tells me.

“I don’t know how you girls kept up with all the chores here either,” she says, shaking her head.

“We didn’t have a choice,” I tell her, and she nods.

“I’m sorry, Ivy,”

“Azalea,” Kyson corrects her. Katrina can call me what she likes, but she nods her head. She was the only person here that was actually nice and tried to help us, but she couldn’t because Alpha Dean always had a soft spot for Mrs. Daley, despite Katrina actually having Beta blood.

“Don’t be, and it’s not your fault,”

“I could have done more.” I shake my head when one kid comes out and looks around. Tyson starts babbling. He had some disability that was never diagnosed because Mrs. Daley believed you could beat disobedience out of a child and saw speech impediment as disobedience.

He motions toward his mouth, trying to speak, but it comes out in grunts and growling. “I never know what he is trying to say,” Katrina says as he squeezes his fists, shaking as he becomes frustrated, grumbling loudly.

I reach into the fruit bowl, looking for an apple that wasn’t squishy. I clean it on my shirt and pass it to him. “Apple,” I tell her. Abbie and I learned distinct noises meant certain things to him. He babbles excitedly and takes it, rushing off.

“Apple,” she says with a sigh, and I sip my tea and nod.

“He likes the crunching noise they make, and he hates cornflakes, so don’t give him those. He has a meltdown, Tyson doesn’t like the texture,” I tell her, and she quickly jumps up and grabs a notepad from the fridge. She jots it down, and I tell her a few more noises he makes and what they mean.

“Man, I wish you and Abbie could stay here a while to show me,” she says. Kyson shakes his head instantly and I don’t think I could even if he let me. Too many bad memories here and I knew this place would give me nightmares when I went home.

“I have to take dad for brain scans next week. I am hoping the Alpha will come over like he said. He said he would watch them for me,” she sighs.

“Brock, what did you have to give to do that?” I ask, and she blushes, not looking happy about that. I click my tongue, already knowing the answer.

“No one else?” I ask her, and I can only imagine what she had to do for her to get him over to watch all these kids.

“We can try to help find you some help?” Kyson offers, and she looks at him hopefully.

“Please. No one is willing to help, and I have my exams coming back up.”

“You’re back studying accounting?” I ask her.

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